The season of love:

I got to spend most of this past week down south with my precious friend Meaghan as she prepared to marry her true love handsomeface manperson. It felt like such a privilege being behind the scenes of all that pre-wedding busyness -- and then to actually walk down the aisle ahead of the bride's sister and niece and then the bride herself.

Wedded bliss might signal the end of our epic Meaghan-and-Danielle weekends (usually an annual occurence), and I will undoubtedly grieve the subtle shift of things, but at the same time, I'm rejoicing for her and for the great man she has married. Lives change all the time, every moment of every day, but it's very cool to get to watch and observe one of those new chapters as it begins. (Plus, pretty dresses and 1938 Fords were involved!).

Added to all that was the fact that so many wonderful people came together to celebrate Meaghan and Geoff, and we -- the guests -- took advantage of the cool company to catch up with friends and family we see only too rarely. Love was in the air, and not just wedding-love!

Adventuring.

Two weeks was a long time to be away from home, but a short time to be with my sister, Andrea, and her precious little family. I'm fumbling around for the right words to aptly summarise two weeks of getting to hang out and chat with a sister I see all too little, and making better and better friends with my first niece and nephew. Amelia and I were already BFFs (sharing a fondness for journals, coloured pencils, and costume jewellery, though at four she already has better taste than me), but Mitchell, now two-and-a-half, took a little more convincing. On the first day, he responded to my anecdote about seeing an owl on a signpost with the blunt shut-down, "That's not exciting." But by the next day, he told me I was his "best best friend" and shouted, "I LOVE you staying here till the baby comes out!"

Which is the real reason behind my visit: to be there as aunt/babysitter when small person no. 3 made his or her arrival. Only said small person was none too quick about arriving and its due date slipped past with nary a peep. We filled in the blanks by exploring the little snowfields town my sister lives in, tripping out for a day to Canberra to see the war memorial and the luscious streets lined with bare-bones winter trees. We had coffee (twice) at our favourite little providore, and both times we managed to get a table right by the open fire. We knitted (well, Andrea did) and read (well, I did), and Sam introduced me to the dorky entertainment that is The Scrapheap Challenge. I laughed over and over again at the amazingly witty things coming out of small niece and nephew's mouths, and we generally tried to ignore the fact that baby no. 3 might not actually arrive before I had to fly home again.

Andrea walked over hill and dale in an attempt to keep moving and possibly nudge baby on into the world, but all seemed useless. It was snug in there; who'd want to face a southern winter anyway, right? But one afternoon, Andrea and I sat down to watch The Little Kidnappers, a movie we'd loved when we were small and which we were hoping would stand the test of time. We weren't five minutes in when Andrea leapt off the couch quite suddenly. It was happening.

Just after midnight, with Amelia and Mitchell sound asleep, my phone rang (I should probably change my ringtone from the Batman theme soon) and Andrea was there, telling me that there is a new little man in the world, and his name is Daniel.

In spite of our complaints, Daniel's timing was perfect. And he is perfect -- already a golden child, so content and snuggly, and looking a lot like his dad. I had five days to enjoy him before I had to fly home, and it was an honour to be able to be there for his first few days of life this side of the womb. Though we never did get to finish watching The Little Kidnappers.

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Conversations:

Laura Elizabeth -- I know, right? Two babies in two months is quite incredible! PS. Thank you for missing me in blogland. I felt all warm and fuzzy :).

Staish -- alas! In the post-trip suitcase weigh-in, the red coat got thrown aside on account of IT WAS TOO HEAVY.

Katie -- thank you!

Cara -- new small people for both of us! Yay!

Amanda -- I'll be posting more at LJ :)

Samantha -- thank you, lovely. Thinking of you today. x

brb

So long for a fortnight, folks!

I have packed gloves and a fire engine red coat and I'm heading down south to be with my sister and her little family while they await the arrival of a bran noo bebe! I'll catch up on Project 52 when I return. Keep smiling!

Girls just wanna have fun:

I'm back from my days of fun and frivolity with my goddaughters, and so thankful to have had some special extended time to tie strings and make memories.

The solo road trip was the least fun part of the adventure (yes, I know I now like driving a little bit and I know I'm starting to understand maps a little bit, but still... it would have been more fun with a fellow road tripper) -- but the rest was just a whole lot of serious playtime. We read and swam and played Just Dance on the Wii. We did crafts and wrote poems and had entire conversations in British, Italian, and American accents. We cared for numerous dogs and chickens and horses and fish. I was hugged to within an inch of my life and pleaded with to tell made-up stories (enter Jonny Bignose and Sally Spaghetti Bolognaise). And I was called DeeDee Girl and told every day that my laugh is so funny and sweet.

Well, Annie and Marie, so are you.

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Conversations:

Katie -- thank you, I did!

Rebecca -- here's the first batch of pics. I might trickle a few more in over at my tumblr.

Samantha R -- thank you. It was fun!

Janellehardy -- You're probably right! It doesn't look as though there's sixteen years difference between Emma and Mr. Knightley. Probably more like eight to ten. Yes! I will email you with New Church Adventures when I have had a few more of such.

Notice of (brief) absence and all that

Well hey. If it feels like all I ever do here in old blogland these days is pop in to tell you that I won't be here, you might be right. Because, um, I'm at it again. But give me grace; I'm off to the north coast of New South Wales (solo road trip; eep!) to spend time with these cheeky cherubs, my goddaughters. I anticipate a week of tea parties, cooking adventures, reading together, swimming, and them laughing at my attempts to use the Wii. Photos on my return, okay?

* * * * *

Conversations:

Bonnie -- It's definitely a great adaptation! I believe it can even -- gasp! -- rival the Gwyneth Paltrow version.

Katie -- the big question: did you get some corn chips to fulfill your craving?

Rebecca Simon -- yes! Definitely do find it. You'd love it.

Cara -- SO excited to get a comment from you :D. My Dad won't watch Austen, but he really liked North & South -- as did my brother in law.

Samantha -- yay for brothers indeed!

Mitanika -- I got tired of waiting for this one to hit Australian shores and ordered it straight from Amazon UK :).

There are times when insomnia could be handy.

I keep waiting for a moment in time to stop and write to you all here, but that moment keeps evading me. Tonight, I'm making that moment, even if it's only a tiny one (I'm so sleepy).

Tuesday found us driving home from our semi-spontaneous road trip with the fear that we might not make it through. The radio was a constant in the background, sharing the unfolding news of the flood devastation as an angry wall of water made its way through Queensland and down into northern New South Wales. We wore out our phone batteries checking updates through social media and replying to anxious text messages from friends. There was an urgency to our northwards drive as road after road closed. But -- miraculously -- they kept closing behind us. At one moment we saw emergency services crews hauling the blockades out onto the road seconds after we passed.

There was an eerie and surreal sense to the trip. We passed tiny towns where locals had gathered by the streets to fill sandbags. We drove across a patch of road where the Clarence River had overgrown its banks and was spilling onto the highway. And we took a four hour detour when the inland pathway was blocked by floods. Eventually we made it home, though, dry and safe -- and with hearts breaking for those whose stories have not ended so neatly.

The destruction left by these floods is difficult to comprehend, even here on the fringes of it all. Please pray for Queensland.

* * * * *

Conversations:

Meaghan -- YES! My road trip included youuu! Hooray!

Samantha R -- and I hope your 2011 is drenched in grace :).

Elizabeth Fay -- ooh, I should have taken opportunity today to talk with you about the Dawntreader movie and our mutual favourite quote.

Mitanika -- I absolutely think Eleven should be the mascot for 2011.

Old friends and new beginnings.

I'm wondering why it is that the life-moments most heavy with meaning are the ones that are hardest to reduce to mere words formed into sentences. I have no answer to that question. I only know that, now I'm here with a half hour carved out for stringing together some words about my lovely friend Carla's weekend wedding, I don't really know what to say. I want to say that she was a magical bride, radiant with a sort of 1940s beauty. At the same time, she was thoroughly herself, laughing and crying and expressing her emotion in facial expressions as much as in words. Her new husband Alastair ("with three A's") was so very obviously overjoyed to be joined to this precious girl for life, and his tears as he watched Carla walk down the aisle to Pachelbel's Canon (the piece Carla had always vowed she would be married by) sparked a landslide of tears from a whole bunch of us who were watching.

The ceremony was a joyful one, full of worship and also a sense of festivity at the new beginning awaiting Carla and Alastair. And the reception following was sparkling with fairytale touches -- swags of linen hung from the ceiling, tiny white lights, glowing candles, and a profusion of pink roses. It was an overwhelming of the nicest sort to be amongst so many of my beloved New South Wales friends at once. The day was too short and the hall too full of excellent people for there to be much time to really talk and catch up, but it was awesome just to see them and to be reminded anew of how good it is to be loved by people who have known you long enough to see your flaws and to realise that you really take far too long to reply to letters -- and yet continue to be loving and kind and super all the same.

So, since I can't explain any of that in words sufficiently elegant, I'll instead point you to some pictures of the special day: Bethany's, Rachael's, and the wedding photographer's, all of whom got some gorgeous shots.

Well here we are.

2010 is already one-twelfth dissolved into history, and that fraction has been a month very full for me and the people I love.
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January was a flurry sandwiched between two weddings at the beginning and one at its end, filled in all its spaces with one interstate road trip, one interstate air trip (why do we not say air trip when we so easily say road trip?), my parents' move, thousands of words of essay writing, farewells as friends begin new lives elsewhere, and wedding planning.

.

And it all concluded with my sister Lauren and I spending nine days on the gorgeous West Australian coast. There, we hung out with our parents and littlest brother, enjoyed traipsing around their new neighbourhood, read books in the middle of the day, went to the movies with Mum and Tain, developed golden tans without even trying, saw dolphins, caught up with beloved friends for the first time in three years, cuddled a gorgeous brand new baby (who was conveniently born while we were in the state), watched a beautiful friend marry her bff, hung out with our big-little brother and his girlfriend, sipped espreskis at Dome(!), and remembered just how incredible WA really is.

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The holiday finished today, as we cruised back into Brisbane above the sunrise (and through a rainbow) during a stormy dawn. At the end of such a delightful holiday, and galvanised with the halo of thoughts that a holiday always creates, this feels like the beginning of my 2010. I am ready to make things. To write letters. To welcome my excellent cousin Annie for five days. To start my second year of uni. To edit my novel. To wash loads of washing. To read great books.

To get better at that confusing aerobic dance workout. To keep a journal once again. To get to know more locals. To bake cupcakes.

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Tomorrow. I'll start tomorrow. This evening, I will curl up on the lounge, watch a nice movie, and possibly even doze off.

New Zealand :: living things

Here they are -- the last of the New Zealand pictures. I've saved my favourites for last; not, as you might misinterpret, because flowers are more important to me than the precious people I spent time with in New Zealand. No, it's simply because leaves and trees and fruit and blossoms are there, complete on their own, and somehow pictures capture that. There are no words necessary. A flower is its own story.

New Zealand :: landscapes

The incredibly breathtaking Mt. Taranaki, which watches over the city in majestic incongruity.

One of the Sugar Loaf islands

(near the lookout where Lauren and James got engaged)

The foreshore at New Plymouth.

Doesn't the water even look Southern?

The lake at Pukekura Park, where the water reflects the overhanging blossoms and ducks hover hungrily in hope of crumbs.

Mt. Taranaki, shrouded in snow and cloud.

Downtown New Plymouth.

And this little footbridge, nestled away among the ferns,

is one I feel sure would inspire Monet.

New Zealand :: precious people

I got to meet in real life one of my loved-but-previously-unmet friends, Holly, her husband Bryan, and their cute babies. That was an extra treat.

I took walks with my family along an amazing grey-and-green windswept coastline.

My little brother showed he hasn't lost his sense of cool (bike helmet for the win!).

We squished...

And ate good things.

We squished some more...

And enjoyed the togetherness.

We looked at excellent stuff (toy museum!)...

And met new friends.

Finally we had to say goodbye --

but we said it with smiles.